May 04, 2009

Memories of Birmigham come flooding back but the six people that might be the subject of criminal proceedings in Spain are not the victims of a miscarriage of justice though there certainly appears to have been an injustice in their case. See this report from Ha'aretz:Spanish National Court judge Fernando Andreu announced Monday that he will pursue his investigation into a 2002 Israeli bombing in the Gaza Strip, despite contrary advice by prosecutors at the court.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak said he would call on the Spanish government to prevent the investigation, reiterating Israel's stance that the Israel Defense Forces is the most "moral" army in the world.

"I intend to appeal to the Spanish foreign minister, the Spanish minister of defense and, if need be, the Spanish prime minister, who is a colleague of mine in the Socialist International, to override the decision," said Barak. "No army is as moral as the Israel Defense Forces and I have no doubt that the people who were involved in eliminating [alleged Hamas member Salah] Shehadeh acted with a clear mind and towards a single goal - to protect the citizens of Israel."

Six senior IDF officers and security officials are the subject of investigation over their involvement in the 2002 bombing in densely populated Gaza City. That attack, using a one-ton bomb dropped from an Israeli F-16, targeted and killed alleged Shehadeh along with 14 other people.

Andreu said the 2002 bombing might constitute a crime against humanity. The suspects named by Andreu include former Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, former Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Dan Halutz and five current or former army officers or security officials.I've heard it said that hasbaristas have called Israel's army "the most moral army in the world" but I didn't know they still said it and certainly not in all seriousness.

Still let's just wait and see what transpires in this case. Far be it from me to pre-judge war criminals. Woops, I mean suspected war criminals.